Armenia and Azerbaijan: Anatomy of a Rivalry

Description

Analyses the 30-year conflict for control over the contested territory of Nagorny KarabakhProvides a complete overview of historical, territorial, domestic, strategic, international and mediation perspectivesMoves beyond chronological narrative and comparative analysis of post-Soviet conflicts Draws on the author's experience of over a decade as a practitioner of Armenian–Azerbaijani peace-building effortsInformed by fieldwork conducted in 2014–16 across the conflict and interviews with political and societal actorsUses theoretical frameworks to draw comparisons with other international, long-term rivalries, such as India–Pakistan and Arab states–IsraelThe Armenian–Azerbaijani conflict for control of the mountainous territory of Nagorny Karabakh is the longest-running dispute in post-Soviet Eurasia. Laurence Broers shows how decades of dynamic territorial politics, shifting power relations, international diffusion and unsuccessful mediation efforts have contributed to the resilience of this stubbornly unresolved dispute. Looking beyond tabloid tropes of ‘frozen conflict’ or ‘Russian land-grab’, Broers unpacks the unresolved territorial issues of the 1990s and the strategic rivalry that has built up around them since.